Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Temptation of Jesus
4 (A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (B)to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had (C)fasted forty days and forty nights, He [a]then became hungry. 3 And (D)the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the (E)Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘(F)Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil *took Him into (G)the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
‘(H)He will command His angels concerning You’;
and
‘On their hands they will bear You up,
Lest You strike Your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘(I)You shall not put the [b]Lord your God to the test.’”
8 (J)Again, the devil *took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “(K)All these things I will give You, if You fall down and [c]worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘(L)You shall worship the [d]Lord your God, and [e]serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left Him; and behold, (M)angels came and began to minister to Him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
12 Now when Jesus heard that (N)John had been taken into custody, (O)He departed into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and (P)lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying,
15 “(Q)The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
[f]By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the [g]Gentiles—
16 (R)The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”
17 (S)From that time Jesus began to [h]preach and say, “(T)Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The First Disciples
18 (U)Now as Jesus was walking by (V)the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, (W)Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And He *said to them, “[i]Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 And immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 21 And going on from there He saw two other brothers, [j](X)James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. 22 And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Ministry in Galilee
23 And Jesus was going (Y)throughout all Galilee, (Z)teaching in their synagogues and (AA)preaching the [k]gospel of the kingdom, and (AB)healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
24 And the news about Him spread (AC)throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, (AD)demoniacs, [l](AE)epileptics, (AF)paralytics; and He healed them. 25 And large crowds (AG)followed Him from Galilee and (AH)the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from (AI)beyond the Jordan.
The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes
5 (AJ)Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on (AK)the [m]mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 (AL)And He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 “[n](AM)Blessed are the [o]poor in spirit, for (AN)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are (AO)those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are (AP)the [p]lowly, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are (AQ)those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 Blessed are (AR)the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 Blessed are (AS)the pure in heart, for (AT)they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for (AU)they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who have been (AV)persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for (AW)theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people (AX)insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for (AY)in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but (AZ)if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out to be trampled under foot by men.
14 “You are (BA)the light of the world. A city set on a [q]hill cannot be hidden; 15 (BB)nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a [r]basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may (BC)see your good works, and (BD)glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the (BE)Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, (BF)until heaven and earth pass away, not [s]the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches [t]others to do the same, shall be called least (BG)in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 “For I say to you that unless your (BH)righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Personal Relationships
21 “(BI)You have heard that [u]the ancients were told, ‘(BJ)You shall not murder’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before (BK)the court.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before (BL)the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘[v]Raca,’ shall be guilty before the [w](BM)Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the [x](BN)fiery hell. 23 Therefore if you are (BO)presenting your [y]offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your [z]offering there before the altar and go; first be (BP)reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your [aa]offering. 25 (BQ)Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I say to you, (BR)you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last [ab]quadrans.
27 “(BS)You have heard that it was said, ‘(BT)You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman (BU)to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (BV)But if your right eye makes you [ac]stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you [ad]to lose one of the parts of your body, [ae]than for your whole body to be thrown into [af](BW)hell. 30 (BX)And if your right hand makes you [ag]stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you [ah]to lose one of the parts of your body, [ai]than for your whole body to go into [aj](BY)hell.
31 “Now it was said, ‘(BZ)Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 (CA)but I say to you that everyone who [ak]divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a [al]divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, (CB)you have heard that [am]the ancients were told, ‘[an](CC)You shall not [ao]make false vows, but shall fulfill your [ap]vows to the [aq]Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, (CD)make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is (CE)the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is the (CF)footstool of His feet, or [ar]by Jerusalem, for it is (CG)the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is [as]of (CH)the evil one.
38 “(CI)You have heard that it was said, ‘(CJ)An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but (CK)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your [at]tunic, let him have your [au]garment also. 41 And whoever [av]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 (CL)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43 “(CM)You have heard that it was said, ‘(CN)You shall love your neighbor (CO)and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, (CP)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [aw]be (CQ)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For (CR)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore [ax](CS)you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Giving to the Poor and Prayer
6 “Beware of doing your righteousness before men (CT)to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Therefore, when you [ay]give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they (CU)may be glorified by men. (CV)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you [az]give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your [ba]giving will be in secret; and (CW)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to (CX)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners [bb](CY)so that they may be seen by men. (CZ)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, (DA)go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and (DB)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their (DC)many words. 8 Therefore, do not be like them; for (DD)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
9 “(DE)Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 (DF)Your kingdom come.
(DG)Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 (DH)Give us this day [bc]our daily bread.
12 And (DI)forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but (DJ)deliver us from [bd](DK)the evil one. [be][For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
14 (DL)For if you forgive [bf]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But (DM)if you do not forgive [bg]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Fasting
16 “(DN)Now whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they [bh]neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. (DO)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, (DP)anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your (DQ)Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
Treasures in Heaven
19 “(DR)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves (DS)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for (DT)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “(DU)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is [bi]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if (DV)your eye is [bj]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “(DW)No one can [bk]serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot [bl]serve God and [bm](DX)wealth.
Do Not Worry
25 “(DY)For this reason I say to you, [bn]do not be (DZ)worried about your [bo]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 (EA)Look at the birds of the [bp]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And which of you by (EB)worrying can (EC)add a single [bq]cubit to his [br]life span? 28 And why are you (ED)worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even (EE)Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the (EF)grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? (EG)You of little faith! 31 Do not (EH)worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for (EI)your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But [bs]seek first [bt]His kingdom and His righteousness, and (EJ)all these things will be [bu]added to you.
34 “So do not (EK)worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. [bv]Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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